1200th IOTD - 5/4/07

This Image of the Day is the 1,200th posted since the series began March 27, 2002. It shows a strip of ground in the Daedalia Planum region of the giant volcanic province of Tharsis.The lava flows come from the Arsia Mons volcano. Its summit lies about 300 miles (500 kilometers) to the right of the image, which measures 11 miles (18 kilometers) wide by 39 miles (63 km) long.The rough textured lava surface traps dust and sand, while the impact craters act as obstacles to the wind. The combination of readily available dust and turbulent winds passing the craters creates the bright and dark 'tails' extending to the west of the craters. These wind streaks indicate the wind was blowing from east to west (right to left).

Image information: VIS instrument. Latitude -11.1N, Longitude 231.8E. 18 meter/pixel resolution.

Please see the THEMIS Data Citation Note for details on crediting THEMIS images.

Note: this THEMIS visual image has not been radiometrically nor geometrically calibrated for this preliminary release. An empirical correction has been performed to remove instrumental effects. A linear shift has been applied in the cross-track and down-track direction to approximate spacecraft and planetary motion. Fully calibrated and geometrically projected images will be released through the Planetary Data System in accordance with Project policies at a later time.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) was developed by Arizona State University, Tempe, in collaboration with Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing. The THEMIS investigation is led by Dr. Philip Christensen at Arizona State University. Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver, is the prime contractor for the Odyssey project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.